The dust began to clear.
And as Valentine's gaze landed on Malakai, his thoughts froze.
He couldn't say anything. He simply stared.
'Is that really him?'
Valentine had once believed his own transformation after evolving was legendary.
But now, as he looked at Malakai, he couldn't help but gawk.
His hair and eye color remained crimson, but they were deeper now, richer, like blood turned molten.
His height hadn't changed, but his physique had.
His clothes had been shredded by the blast, revealing a body sculpted like it had been carved from stone, flawless and brimming with raw vitality.
His fra had grown broader, shoulders squared, every muscle compact and powerful, like coiled steel.
He looked… complete.
Unshakable.
Yet, Valentine was no longer focused on his body.
His attention was on the air around Malakai.
'He's attracting vita…'
It was natural. Evolvers always attracted vita, it was a sign that their body had evolved.
But this… what shocked Valentine was sothing else.
Malakai had just stepped into the Genesis stage, the very beginning of the evolutionary path.
The amount of vita he should be attracting should reflect that. However…
'It can't be compared to mine back then…'
Valentine rembered his own evolution clearly. The stream of vita around him had been faint but visible.
What he was seeing now, however, seed unbelievable. A storm of vita swirled around Malakai like he was its center.
But Valentine wasn't the only one observing Malakai's changes.
The mont the cocoon had shattered, Malakai had ignored everything else and turned his focus inward.
And what he felt could only be described in one word.
'Incredible…' his thoughts trembled.
Malakai felt powerful.
Insanely powerful.
More than he had ever felt in his entire life.
He could feel power ripping from every inch of him, his skin, his blood, his breath.
'I have to test this…'
He shifted slightly, about to move, but instantly froze.
A mory appeared in his mind, causing him to rethink his move.
The last ti he had moved without thinking, he had nearly slamd into the ceiling.
'I should be careful. One step at a ti.'
He took a slow step forward.
Then another.
Deliberately, with very little force each ti. And it turned out to be the right decision.
'I feel so light…'
He felt lighter than ever, so much so that if he hadn't experienced it himself, he would've thought it impossible.
Valentine watched him, confused at why Malakai was walking so cautiously.
But Malakai paid him no mind. He approached the wall, bringing his fist back.
Then he punched.
The blow landed.
The impact rang out like an explosion. A violent shockwave rippled out from the point of contact, and a deep crack splintered across the wall. Dust exploded outward, billowing through the hall.
Within the haze, Malakai's eyes were wide open, staring at his arm in disbelief.
But he wasn't the only one.
Valentine's mouth had dropped open.
To him, it had looked like a missile moving, but in arm form.
Malakai's fist had sliced through the air with terrifying montum and detonated on contact like a warhead.
Valentine couldn't help but wonder how he had achieved such strength so soon.
But Malakai had already moved on.
'I should get used to my speed.'
He walked to the far end of the hall, planting himself firmly.
One step at a ti.
Then, once he had a feel for the motion, he broke into a jog.
And then…
He sprinted.
Malakai shot forward, a blur, moving through the hall at speeds he could never have imagined.
The wind howled in his wake as he weaved from side to side, forcing his newly evolved legs to adjust, to learn.
Every movent he took taught him sothing. Every mistake he made guided his control.
And after many attempts, after several bursts, stops, slips, and mid-air redirects, Malakai finally reached a level he found satisfactory.
Then, he stopped right in the middle of the hall, dust still swirling faintly in his wake.
His large grin remained unchanged. In fact, Malakai doubted if there was anyone alive who could take that grin away from him right now.
'My strength and speed have increased… and I can… see the vita?'
That last realization shocked him slightly.
He wasn't just feeling the vita flowing through his body, he could sense the vita in the atmosphere.
It was shocking.
For Genesis evolvers, the best any of them could do was feel the vita within them. Their bodies naturally attracted it, yes, but they couldn't perceive it.
But now, Malakai could not only feel it.
He could see it.
Tiny orbs of greenish energy floated around him, drifting toward his body in droves. They moved through the air like moths to fla, drawn to him, absorbed into him.
'Amazing…'
Malakai was speechless.
Each new discovery pushed his excitent further, fanning the fire burning inside him.
The future suddenly looked limitless.
'The blood node.'
His thoughts shifted instantly to what was supposed to be the real power-up, his Blood Node.
He focused inward.
Instantly, he felt the faint, steady pulse radiating from the bright node just behind his heart.
It was glowing, and with every thump of his heart, the light pulsed as if the two were in perfect sync.
Malakai followed the rhythm, letting himself get lost in the beat.
He saw it.
His heart, pumping blood through his arteries, veins, and capillaries, delivering oxygen, removing waste, fueling every cell.
He saw the flow, like a river network inside his body.
He was srized.
Instinctively, his consciousness reached toward the Blood Node, and the mont he did, a jolt surged through his body.
Malakai gasped before he felt it.
His blood.
Every single drop.
Every flow.
Every movent.
He could feel it flowing through every vein, every vessel.
He had studied human anatomy countless tis back in the Sanguine Clan, preparing for the day he might finally evolve.
He had morized the flow of blood, its purpose, its paths, its cycles.
But now, he threw all that knowledge out the window.
Because this wasn't theory, this was real.
He didn't just understand it.
He was it.
And then, without thinking, without planning, his next actions ca instinctively.
His lips parted.
"BloodFlow."
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